Stanchion for goods vehicles

ABSTRACT

A stanchion for goods vehicles is made up of at least two sections (4, 6) which are preferably made of aluminum and are provided with cooperating ridges (5) and grooves (7) for guiding and transmission of forces. A strengthening section (8) can be inserted in the most stressed part of the stanchion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a stanchion for goods vehicles.

PRIOR ART

Stanchions for goods vehicles have hitherto normally been made of bentsteel plate welded together to form a box containing the mechanism whichis required for operating the stanchion. Such a stanchion is heavy,expensive to produce (as a result of bending, welding and surfacetreatment) and is not easy to service.

Technology has hitherto been lacking for producing stanchions frommaterials such as aluminium which afford clear advantages with respectto weight and freedom from requirements of surface treatment.

THE INVENTION

A stanchion according to the invention is made up of at least twosections which are preferably made of aluminium and are provided withcooperating, longitudinal ridges and grooves for guiding when pushingthe sections together axially to form a stanchion and for transmissionof forces during use, wherein a mechanism known per se for operating thestanchion can be arranged in a space formed by the sections.

A strengthening section of the same character as the other sections canbe inserted in the stanchion at its most stressed part.

The sections can be held together simply by screws, rivets or similarelements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be described in greater detail below with referenceto the attached drawing, in which

FIG. 1 shows a previously known stanchion for a goods vehicle,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stanchion according to the invention,and

FIGS. 3A-C are cuts through three sections incorporated in thisstanchion.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a previously known stanchion 1 for goods vehicles. With theaid of a mechanism, which is generally designated 2, the stanchion can,on the one hand, be releasably fixed on a platform edge 3 and, on theother hand, releasably fix flaps (not shown) in the raised position.Since the figure, which is taken from European Patent No. 0 090 835, isprimarily intended to illustrate the mechanism 2 in the stanchion, thestanchion 1 itself is in fact only indicated.

Such a conventional stanchion is, after assembly of the mechanism,normally welded together by two steel sections--a level base section anda U-shaped section. The stanchion is heavy and thus difficult to handle,in addition to the fact that its weight limits in a prejudicial mannerthe possible net load of the vehicle. The welding makes the stanchionexpensive. The steel plate material used means that rust protection andsurface treatment are required. Finally, servicing the mechanism isdifficult to carry out, as a result of the welding.

A stanchion according to the invention, which is shown in FIG. 2 andFIGS. 3A-C, is instead made up of sections preferably made of aluminiumor the like, which sections can be simply inserted into each other intheir longitudinal direction by virtue of the fact that they areequipped with cooperating ridges and grooves. Moreover, since all theessential parts of the mechanism can be made of aluminium, greatadvantages are achieved in the abovementioned respects.

FIG. 3A shows a base section 4 which can be said to consist of a baseplate and two legs which project upwards therefrom and which are in eachcase provided, on their surfaces facing each other, with twolongitudinal ridges 5. The result is a U section with protruding flangesagainst which the flaps of the goods vehicle are intended to bear in theraised position.

FIG. 3B shows a covering section 6 which can be said to consist of aplate, where appropriate channelled on the top side, and two legs whichproject downwards therefrom and which are in each case provided, ontheir surfaces facing away from each other, with two longitudinalgrooves 7.

The base section 4 and covering section 6 can be fitted together to forma stanchion for a goods vehicle by being pushed together axially, inwhich connection the ridges 5 and grooves 7 cooperate in a guidingmanner and, during subsequent use on a goods vehicle, also to transmitforces.

A mechanism 2 suitable for the purpose and which can have the designindicated in FIG. 1 or can be of any other construction is of courseinserted in the stanchion during assembly, in which connection eitherone or both of the sections are provided beforehand with the necessaryholes and recesses for the mechanism.

In particularly stressed parts of the stanchion, especially inconnection with the platform edge 3, additional strengthening may berequired. For this purpose it is possible to use a strengthening section8, shown in FIG. 3C, which can be said to consist of a base plate, twolegs projecting upwards therefrom, and two flanges directed inwards fromthe tops of these legs, so that an essentially box-shaped section isformed. The section can be strengthened, as shown, in the particularlystressed transition point between the base plate and the respective leg.The outside of the respective leg is provided with a longitudinal groove9 for cooperation in the abovementioned manner, during assembly andsubsequent use, with corresponding ridges 10 on the inside of the legsof the covering section 6. After assembly this strengthening section 8can also be fixed by means of screws or rivets.

FIG. 2 shows, from the end (lower end), a stanchion made up of the threesections 4, 6 and 8, in which connection, as mentioned above, thestrengthening section 8 extends along only part of the stanchion. Thisfigure clearly shows the cooperation between the above-described ridgesand grooves of the various sections.

In order to illustrate the difference in weight between a conventionalstanchion made of welded steel plate and an aluminium stanchionaccording to the invention, it is pointed out that one meter of theformer can weigh in the order of 15 kg, while the same length of thelatter weighs only about 6.5 kg. It goes without saying thatconsiderable advantages are obtained with respect to manageability andweight utilization.

Modifications are possible within the scope of the subsequent patentclaims. Thus, both the shape and the positioning of the ridges andgrooves may vary, and this also applies to the sections.

I claim:
 1. A stanchion for mounting to extend vertically from aplatform edge of a goods transport vehicle to bear weight along itslength from goods being transported having a centrally located space forencompassing an internally mounted mechanism for releasably securing thestanchion in place, comprising in combination, at least two interfittingsections for forming a rectangular cross section configurationlongitudinally overlapping in locked registration along two shorterdimensioned opposite sides to form a structure surrounding said space,with interlocking weight-bearing means comprising in each of the twosides a plurality of longitudinally disposed mated ridge-groove membersthat extend substantially along the length of the stanchion inoverlapping portions of the sections.
 2. The stanchion defined in claim1 further comprising sections of aluminium.
 3. The stanchion defined inclaim 1 further comprising a third longitudinal strengthening section ofa length less than that of the stanchion disposed in locked registrationinside said space with said stanchion by means of longitudinallydisposed ridge and groove structure and disposed at a position along thelength of the stanchion receiving heavy stress.
 4. The stanchion definedin claim 1 wherein said two sections further comprise substantiallyU-shaped cross section members defining a base plate and two extendinglegs for forming said overlapping portions and containing the ridges andgrooves, with the two sections having dimensions that requirelongitudinal registration of the ridges and grooves by axially slidingthe sections end to end.
 5. The stanchion of claim 1 in which saidsections are two metal sections held together in a non-welded assemblyin which weight-bearing strength for retaining said goods issubstantially produced by the mated ridge and groove structure.
 6. Astanchion for retaining goods on a platform of a vehicle formed of atleast two shaped aluminum sections interlocked longitudinally by aplurality of mating weight-bearing means including ridges and groovesalong two opposed sides of a substantially rectangular configuration toform a unitary load bearing unit surrounding a hollow interior.